Coyotes by Snow and Kevin

Vermont Animals - Coyotes

By Snow and Kevin

Do you know what coyotes eat? Do you know how tall coyotes are? Do you know what the name “coyote” means? We didn’t know either. Then we looked in books and studied coyotes so now we know everything about them. Let us tell you some interesting facts about coyotes.

First, let’s talk about coyotes’ bodies. Adults weigh 20 to 30 pounds. They are 2 feet at the shoulder, 3 feet long, and they have bushy tails that are 1 1/2 feet long. That means the coyote’s body is two times longer than its tail. The tail helps the coyote keep its balance while turning. Coyotes run with their tail between their legs. They have long legs and small feet like a dog. Coyotes have skinny bodies that help them run fast to catch some animals so they can eat with their large sharp teeth.

Now, we will explain about food that coyotes eat. Coyotes’ best meal of the day is rodents and prairie dogs and sometimes dogs that are smaller than them. You know when there’s none of their favorite food, they hunt a lot of chickens, sheep and lambs. Some coyotes prefer to hunt alone, and some hunt in a pack. They also eat carrion - animals that are already dead. Coyotes and badgers sometimes work together to find food. Now you know about food and body about coyotes.

Now we will tell you where coyotes live.
Coyotes have been an important part of North American life for hundeds of years. They live almost everywhere in North America, Alaska, and Central America. Coyotes prefer to live in grasslands and the edges of woodlands because rodents live there and coyotes can hunt them down.

Did you know we never finished answering all the questions in the first paragraph? Coyote’s real, scientific names are Canis Latrans. It means “a barking dog”. Do you know why it means a barking dog? Because coyotes are like dogs and they bark like them, except they usually howl. A long time ago, in Mexico they called coyotes “coyotl”. Then, the Spanish explorers changed it to “coyote”.

Now that you know about coyotes you should be thankful for our work. We hope you learned all about coyotes and what they eat and where they live. We hope you like our article and we should say “bye bye”.